Reheated-coffee-reading.

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I don't ski, I don't drink craft beer and I don't have a dog, but by golly I am a real Colorado native girl. So now you can still believe in unicorns! Here's my ode to motherhood, you know because all of us bloggers write like we were the first, only and last mama out there.

Apr 6 Hippity Hop: Easter Weekend

I hope you all had a lovely Easter holiday with your loved ones and friends!
This year was so much fun! Last year Remy was almost one and not even standing on her own two feet. I was a few months pregnant with Arlo. This year was all new terrain in parenthood. When they say it keeps getting better, holidays is probably a big part of that.

The Easter bunny hopped his way through our back yard in the morning; literally too! We were all standing in Remy's bedroom when we came in to get her after she awoke, and we were looking out her bedroom window which overlooks the back yard, and husband saw an actual bunny hop through! We were all stunned because we have never seen bunnies around here and we ran downstairs and out back to catch a glimpse but he was gone. Easter magic?!

Momma had helped Easter Bunny prepare baskets for the girls the night before and assisted him in their hiding. We were so excited for Remy to do her egg hunt, so we headed out back before combing her hair, or changing her diaper, eek! She had such fun looking for all the eggs we had dyed earlier in the week. Remy coloring eggs was more like her slamming them into plastic cups of colored water on the back porch. No fancy onion skin dye, or natural beet juice and cabbage dye or elaborate "silk tie" eggs like my friend Jessica beautifully mastered... just the classic tablets over here. The Bunny did have a few special metallic plastic eggs with jelly beans, Goldfish crackers, Whoppers malt ball eggs and Sixlets inside. I LOVE Easter candy- it's all just tooooo good!

I decided to start a tradition of having the girls find their baskets too. Growing up, we always woke up to our assets in the living room, but I think it is fun to finish an egg hunt with a basket of special things. The Bunny had left her some marshmallow Peeps, just to try one, a chocolate bunny, of course, and a Doc McStuffins toy. There were also a couple little teeny tiny toy dolls I had from my childhood that I popped in her basket to hand down to her. We "found" Arlo's basket in the grass too and The Bunny had left her a wooden duckie stacking toy by Haba and a duckie soothing teether by Bright Starts.

Remy tried jelly beans for the first time- her FACE! She stood there, frozen, in sugar shock and joy as she chewed one for the first time. Shortly after she tried a marshmallow Peep and as that was oozing and dripping out of her little lips, she was tearing the foil off a chocolate bunny...We NEVER give her candy or sweets so this was a real treat for her. We let her taste a few things and that's all she really wanted to do. After the hunt, all of the candy was snatched up and stored away. Mostly for decoration and fun.

We popped back inside for egg, cheese and spinach sandwiches on the grill, made by hubby, and then it was nap time for the babes. After naps, we got into our dresses and headed over to family's for another egg hunt and a lovely dinner spread of enchiladas, guacamole, pasta salad, quinoa salad and ceviche and a lot of other yummy dishes and treats. Our cousin really outdid herself with the kiddos and they were totally spoiled with all the goodies.

It was a fun, fun day, and we were all tuckered out by the time we got home.

This year, my birthday actually fell on Easter weekend as well! Friday morning husband surprised me with a spa package to Havana Sauna where I got a deep body scrub, full body, and then an hour long massage. I feel like a new woman!

Friday night I headed out for a late dinner and dessert with a few girlfriends in LoDo- I SO needed that! We had intended on going to a trendy spot called Work & Class. Hubby and I have actually had a drink here last year on my birthday, but I had wanted to try their food. The wait was going to be 3 hours and 20 minutes and the hostess actually had the nerve to say it with a smile. No meal is worth that long of a wait unless it is with the Pope! I walked right out and we met a couple girlfriends who had been waiting for us across the street at a taco place. We all found a table there within 20 minutes of all meeting up and we had a huge plate of nachos. I had a delicious Sangria! The tacos were nothing to write home about. Then we headed next door to Sugar Mill for dessert! Husband and I had dinner at Sugar Mill last year for my birthday and it is a place I would recommend for both a meal and a dessert.

Saturday, husband had to coach soccer, but he popped in when the girls were napping and he totally surprised me with the sweetest bunch of balloons and delicious desserts from Daniel's of Paris here in Aurora- you must try! Saturday night, husband arranged for a sitter- for BOTH girls- and we had a grownup dinner at Tables in Park Hill. SO. GOOD. I had been hearing rumblings and seeing them listed on places to eat... and I had thought it was a new place, but as it turns out it, it is actually ten years old! The owners were the chefs at String's, now Humboldt. Little tidbits from our incredible waitress Rachel. The place is one of those where all of the veggies and fruits and meats and groceries are sourced from local farms. Rachel could actually tell you exactly which family farm our lamb and beef and veggies came from. The breads are actually from The Grateful Bread Company in Golden. We had about three baskets full! The desserts are all made in house from scratch too! Get the S'mores! We loved everything we ordered. Perfect portion sizes, reasonable price point, no pretentious people, they took a reservation and gave us the best seat in the restaurant, a quaint little corner table, and they were knowledgeable and courteous staff. Highly recommend.

Reflections of this past weekend: I am so thankful, blessed and honored to be the momma of these two girls and the wife of such an incredibly thoughtful, generous and caring man. Easter conjured up some emotion around the meaning of the holiday and what those feelings mean to me as a Christian woman. It brought of traditions and things I grew up with and made me question what we will do with our girls. Although he and I follow different religions, we believe and follow similar faiths at the core and pray to one God at the end of the day. This holy weekend, turning another year older, seeing my girls growing and celebrating such a special holiday, and reflecting on beliefs was really memorable for me. I will share more on our interfaith marriage as it is relevant, but today I am just thankful for God's sacrifice to us all, and for bringing me my family. This year felt like a foundation of Easter traditions was laid in how we will celebrate. The emotions and sentiments and meaning of Easter will be different to my daughters than it is and has been for me. It is not only because we have agreed to raise them a different faith than my own, but also because they are not me! Each person has a different life experience and builds on that. Holidays are another reminder that our children will be raised differently than we were; a different time, a different world, and no matter how hard we want them to be, see, do, feel as we do, it just will not be so, but it is not a bad thing. Easter will be special to Remy and Arlo, in their hearts, because it is special to their mother. Without getting too deep: whether or not they accept the true depth of Easter will be written on their hearts and that has nothing to do with me, or how many jelly beans are in their baskets or how we dye eggs or how we dress them up.

So, in an egg shell, we had a very lovely holiday and birthday weekend over here. One of the best and I am excited for more!